School District Says ‘No More Chocolate Milk’

Boulder Valley School District Stopped Serving Chocolate Milk This Fall
Jennie Castor, 7NEWS Video Journalist

BOULDER, Colo. — Something is very different in the cafeteria of Douglass Elementary School in Boulder County.

The chocolate milk is gone.

In November, the Boulder Valley School District’s new director of nutrition services made some drastic changes. And, she’s rocking the boat by not supporting a recent National Dairy Council campaign promoting flavored milk called ‘Raise Your Hand for Flavored Milk’.
“I want to raise my hands for healthy kids,” said Ann Cooper, the woman Boulder Valley School District officials call the ‘Renegade Lunch Lady’.

“For the National Dairy Council to be marketing to children and their parents by telling them that they have drink chocolate milk in school every day, thats the wrong message. And, in fact children don’t need more milk they need more calcium,” said Cooper.

Lunches in Cooper’s cafeterias now have choices like brown rice, apples and a fresh salad bar along with regular milk.

Cooper says students can get additional calcium from foods like yogurt, cheese, white milk, leafy greens and garbanzo beans without drinking chocolate milk.
“No cow’s udder when you squeezed it came out with high fructose corn syrup. So we need to get a grip here,” said Cooper.

Avoiding the added sugar, often high fructose corn syrup, in chocolate milk is her main concern.

“Bodies actually don’t metabolize high fructose corn syrup very well at all which is why its part of the cause of the obesity crisis and why we’re seeing so many kids get diabetes because it messes with your insulin levels,” said Cooper.

The Western Dairy Association is concerned that children will miss out on essential nutrients if they no longer have the choice to drink chocolate milk.

“Chocolate milk has three teaspoons of added sugar but also has nine essential nutrients,” said Jenna Allen a registered dietitian for the Western Dairy Association.